Why 'Parks and Recreation' Is The Ultimate Feel-Good Quarantine Binge

Ever since Parks and Recreation came out on Netflix Canada, I've been bingeing it nonstop. As a university student struggling with burnout from nearly a year of online learning, it's been a great source of stress relief for me. With perfectly balanced political satire, heart, and comedic timing, Parks and Rec is uplifting, hilarious, and relevant. It's the ultimate feel-good quarantine binge!

Especially now that we're in the middle of our 11th month of this pandemic, Parks and Rec provides the perfect blend of escapism, realism and hilarity. Though it aired from 2009-2015, the characters, setting, and politics explored on the show make it feel current. It perfectly encapsulates how we're all feeling right now, and I'll explain why this is true below:

(NO SPOILERS HERE - You're safe!)

Parks and Rec is about a group of people who work in the Parks and Recreation department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. The main character is Leslie Knope (my favourite character), the deputy director of the department who is optimistic, ambitious, and dedicated to making the world a better place through her role in the Parks department. Ron Swanson is the director of the department and a foil to Leslie; a stanch libertarian, he hates the government (despite working for it) and actively works to "rot the beast from the inside" (in his own words).

Rounding out the rest of the cast, we have April Ludgate, an intense and slightly terrifying college intern; Ann Perkins, a nurse who Leslie befriends; Andy Dwyer, the human personification of a golden retriever; Tom Haverford, a millenial stereotype; Donna Meagle, Jerry Gergich, and Mark Brendanawitz, who are all background employees in the Parks department. A few more characters are added to the show over its run. And I should note, one of my favourite things about Parks and Rec is that not only are the characters all three-dimensional and hilarious in their own ways - they're all likeable.

Now that you know the basics - here are my arguments:

1. The Characters are like all of us in quarantine.

Leslie Knope is one of my all-time absolute favourite characters. She's earnest, hardworking, optimistic, aggressively caring (seriously - she really loves her co-workers), ambitious, and brilliant. Yet, she's like all off us in quarantine - she has so much potential to do amazing things, but she's stuck in the Parks department for so long that her ideas and plans for her life get stalled. Sound familiar?

I love Leslie's character development over the show. She starts out rough (the writing in season 1 admittedly is not the best), struggling to make positive change happen in her role in the Parks department despite facing a number of challenges, but her ambition fuels her career, allowing her to grow and achieve her goals. Leslie's such a genuine person - she cares so much about everything and everyone - and she works so, so hard, and still faces roadblocks. Just like us in quarantine - we're working so hard just to stay afloat, and we're continually being faced with obstacles in our struggle against the virus.

That's part of why it's especially cathartic to watch Leslie's journey in quarantine; to watch her struggle with inertia and uncertainty at first, then watch her ambition and dedication to doing good in the world shine through. Honestly, I could write an essay on the brilliance of Leslie's character alone - or any of the other characters. In the midst of this ongoing pandemic, Leslie's enthusiasm, optimism and dedication to making the world a better place is desperately needed.

The rest of the characters all change and grow in their own ways, similar to Leslie's journey. Most of them are disgruntled, disillusioned employees who dislike their jobs in the Parks department. They'd envisioned their lives going on different, more exciting paths, but somehow, they remained stagnant. Again, it's like our situation with the pandemic - except we get to watch them develop and succeed in achieving their dreams and ambitions. Especially now, it's heartwarming to watch, and provides a sense of closure - which is exactly what we need.

2. It's absolutely hilarious.

If you liked The Office, you'll love Parks and Rec. I myself prefer Parks and Rec over The Office for 2 reasons:

A) I actually liked the characters. On The Office, much of the humour stemmed from the fact that the characters made terrible decisions and were innately...not very likeable. I found myself cringeing way more than laughing, which isn't a great reaction to what should be a comedy. In constrast, all the characters on Parks and Rec are likeable AND loveable (with the exception of Mark Brendanawitz, but no one likes him). The show doesn't treat its characters like the butt of the joke - instead, we laugh with them, we root for them, and we're happy when they achieve their goals. At least, that's how I felt when I watched Parks.

B) It's just. SO. FUNNY. Admittedly, the first season starts out rocky (thankfully, it's only 6 episodes!) but the second season sees a HUGE improvement, and after that, every episode is pure gold.

There are countless jokes and scenes that are just SO hilarious that they've been meme-d and spread across the internet. You might recognize some of them:

- Treat Yo Self (2 of the characters have a day where they treat themselves)

- Could A Depressed Person Make This? (One of the characters tells another one that they think they are depressed, to which they reply with this)

- The Calzones...Betrayed Me? (Some of the characters get food poisoning after eating calzones. One of them feels...betrayed.)

- Don't Be Suspicious (2 characters fake their deaths for money, then show up at their funeral, hide behind a tree, and sing about how they're trying to not be suspicious)

3. The political satire is really on point, especially today.

As a Canadian, I have to say it. Pawnee is like how the rest of the world is viewing the US right now with its handling of the pandemic, plus its recent political turmoil. I won't go into detail here, but I'll give you a hint - it's not flattering. It's clear to the audience that Pawneeans are very set in their ways (which tend to be...not healthy) and resistant to change, yet despite overwhelming evidence that their lifestyles are not good or healthy, they continually cling to the stubborn belief that they are 100% right.

I'll actually add a quote from Leslie here:

"Who cares if they have more money? I have the most valuable currency in America: a blind, stubborn belief that what I'm doing is 100% right!"

In today's world, that feels especially relevant. Many Americans are not complying with the rules and restrictions set up in place to combat COVID-19 (and many of these restrictions are already not strict enough to properly combat the spread), and it's their stubborn belief that their 'freedoms' are being infringed upon that's driving the spread of the virus. It's especially disheartening to the millions of Americans who are complying with restrictions and doing their part to curtail the spread - just like how Leslie gets frustrated that with all the work she's putting in to make Pawnee a better place, Pawneeans are so firmly against her ideas (because they would require them to change their lifestyles slightly). In the end, she barely accomplishes a fraction of the goals she'd hoped to achieve in Pawnee.

But it's somehow not depressing at all. Leslie clearly loves Pawnee so much, but even she eventually realizes that it's not pragmatic to continue she'd been doing. She grows out of that phase of her life, and she's better off for it.

It's kind of like how with the pandemic, many of us are mourning the lives we would have led, all the exciting things we would've done had the pandemic not happened. But it's fruitless to think that way, since we can't turn back the clock and redo 2020. That's why it's important to learn to accept the facts of the situation, step back, and focus on the next phase of our lives - with COVID.

Overall, the show itself is bogged by stagnation for a long period of time - just like our situation with COVID - but then things start changing for the better, just like how in the world, the vaccine is being administered en masse. In Parks, at first, all the characters feel stuck in some way - just like how everything feels stagnant and stale for us during the pandemic. But slowly, the characters develop and grow, breaking free of their molds - just like how we adjusted due to the pandemic, and with widespread administration of the vaccine, we will soon be free to live our lives as planned.

Alright, I'm done with the analogies. Go watch Parks and Rec!

If you liked this post, please consider giving it a like!